The idea that boys, in general, fare worse than girls in school is not new. Until recently, proof of the gender-based lag—for example, boys’ grade point averages overall are lower than girls’, and they are disciplined more frequently and severely—has applied mostly to older students.
But as more states use standardized assessments to measure students’ academic and social kindergarten readiness, some are finding that gender gaps start as soon as school does. While these gaps generally are not huge, they are not easy to ignore—especially as they tend to persist or grow throughout the school years.
Evidence of gender-based gaps as early as kindergarten
Examples of gender-based learning gaps are growing, and some are gaining attention.
A statewide commission of Virginia lawmakers, researchers, and education leaders met on July 20 to examine data showing gender-based school readiness differences and develop related policy recommendations. The Virginia report they referenced captured kindergarten readiness data from the start of the 2024-25 school year, which found that 48% of incoming male kindergartners met overall benchmark readiness standards, compared to 56% of incoming female students.
Earlier research yielded similar findings. A 2012 analysis of data from the Early Child Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort found that better social and behavioral skills in kindergarten help predict positive academic outcomes through elementary school—and that girls edge out boys in these skills.
“We find that girls in contemporary America possess advantages in social and behavioral skills over boys and perform better on standardized tests from the start of kindergarten,” wrote Thomas A. DiPrete and Jennifer L. Jennings, authors of the 2012 report.
More recent analyses found that gender-based readiness gaps that start in kindergarten widen throughout elementary school. One national 2026 report drawing from major U.S. assessments showed specific gender-based skill differences as early as kindergarten, most notably in how girls and boys approach learning. Specifically, girls ranked higher in organization, attentiveness, and eagerness to learn in kindergarten. This gap grew by fifth grade.
Impact on early gender gaps in education
Not only do boys tend to trail their female classmates in readiness scores early on, but they also are disciplined more frequently—even before they reach kindergarten.
Preschool-aged boys are four times more likely to be expelled than girls, according to Head Start data. It’s even worse for Black boys. They made up about 18% of the nation’s public preschool students during the 2017-18 school year, but Black male students bore 38.2% of expulsions—more than twice their share—according to federal data. Behavioral issues are most often cited as reasons for expulsion.
Boys don’t have to be on the receiving end of extreme disciplinary action to feel bad about school. Struggling socially, behaviorally, or academically from an early age can adversely affect a child’s overall confidence and attitude toward learning.
It doesn’t help that kindergarten has become more academic over the years.
“In the first half of the 2010s, we were pushing play out, and play was becoming something that we were having to do secretly,” Amber Nichols, a former longtime kindergarten teacher and the 2023 West Virginia Teacher of the Year, told EdWeek. “There was much less focus on play and social-emotional learning and definitely much more academic-based content.”
Potential solutions
Some educators, advocates, and policymakers are calling for a return to low-stakes, less academic, play-based kindergarten, an introduction to school that may work better for many boys. New Hampshire was the first to mandate change in this direction. Eight years ago, the state’s lawmakers, sounding the alarm on the “academization” of kindergarten, amended education law to structure this formal entry into school on a play-based model. A few other states have since introduced or passed similar legislation.
But the pressure to meet academic standards remains. And as long as academic proficiency scores remain low, many districts likely will feel the need to introduce foundational academic skills as early as possible.
That’s one reason some parents choose to hold their children back from kindergarten for a year. The practice, referred to as “redshirting,” is most commonly practiced by parents of boys.
Most research to date shows that the academic benefits of redshirting are short-lived, though data on redshirting’s social-emotional effects remains scarce. Notably, parents who choose to redshirt often say they do so because they feel their children are less socially or emotionally mature than their same-age peers.
Adding to the pressure some parents feel, enrollment cutoff dates for kindergarten have been creeping earlier. Most schools used to follow the calendar year, so the youngest children in kindergarten turned 5 in December. Now, many states require children entering kindergarten to turn 5 earlier; generally, sometime in September.
That policy shift suggests schools recognize that kindergartners need to be slightly older than they once were in order to meet expectations. And yet, some districts have begun strictly enforcing enrollment birth date cutoffs, in effect preventing parents from redshirting their children in all but rare circumstances.
Some education advocates recommend a looser, family-led approach. “Some children—and this may be more often true for boys—likely benefit from a bit more time before starting school; others are ready at five,” said Alanna Williams, vice president of American Institute for Boys and Men, a nonpartisan research organization. “We think having these flexible options is great.”
She cautions, however, that districts with flexible start date policies must make sure they inform all families of these options so they are equipped to weigh whether they are right for their child.
